Orphans
by Nathander
Summary: After the destruction of Azure City, two women on differing sides find they may not have been as different as they thought. Originally for the crack pairings thread. MikoXTherkla, semi-AU .
1. Chapter 1

Therkla blinked her eyes once, twice as she found herself looking up at a wooden ceiling. The last thing she could remember was the struggle with Kabuto, and going unconscious in Elan's arms. If this was the afterlife, then she felt it to be overrated, first impressions considered. Hell, she could still feel stinging in the arm Kabuto had struck. Therkla sighed slightly; it was times like these that she had wished she had considered a good-alignment earlier on.

"Hey there." A soft voice whispered, Elan's face coming into view. Therkla could feel her face slightly flushing at the sight of the bard, her heart fluttering lightly as she saw the expression of relief on his face. Smiling happily, Elan asked her, "How're you feeling?"

"Better, seeing that the afterlife isn't a total bust." Therkla was surprised by just how weak her voice sounded, the fact that she still harbored a crush on the bard not helping. Part of her knew that it wasn't real, that it was an image created for her in the afterlife to make her happy. Maybe it wasn't even that; her spirit could be just trying to cope with death and had created a fictional Elan for her to pine over. Either way, she knew it wouldn't last.

She began to fully realize her conception of what was happening could be wrong as Elan laughed, leaning against the post of the bed she was in and burying his face in his arms. She could make out a few tears rolling down his chin as he laughed, and she fought the desire to try wiping them away for him. "Ye got yerself awhile for you should worry about tha afterlife, lass." A deep, strong voice she recognized as the dwarf's issued from the foot of her bed. "At least, I pray ye should have awhile." She watched as the figure of Durkon emerged into view and walked over to Elan. Patting him on the back, Durkon smiled softly as he said, "Elan, lad, pull yerself together. She'll be alright."

Sniffling a little as he ended his laughter, Elan wiped his eyes with his sleeve as he struggled out, "I was afraid I was going to lose another friend."

Therkla fell quiet, and after a moment said meekly in a voice she barely recognized as her own, "How am I still alive? My Fortitude isn't that good…"

"I cured ye, girl." Durkon said simply. "Ye'd blacked out by tha time Elan'd brought ya to me. Ye're a lucky one, ye are; I had na prepared Neutralize Poison fer the day, but I always keep a scroll as back up. The ability score drain, however, I didn't have any scrolls for and hadn't thought I'da needed any spells fer it out her on the ocean. I'll have some prepared fer tomorrow, but you'll have to deal with the weakness fer tonight."

"And Lord Kabuto?" She asked simply. The silence that settled over the two was answer enough for her. Her right fist shook in an anger she was surprised to find she was still able to muster. Even after his attempt on her life, she couldn't bring herself to hate the man that had effectively raised her and trained her for her position in life, despite how often she regretted some of the actions she had taken as House Kabuto's highest ranked assassin even before meeting the northerners. Her voice regained some of its usual strength as she asked, "How?"

The two hesitated for a moment, Elan raising a finger as he prepared to tell her. "'E drowned." Durkon interrupted before the bard could get a single word in. "He had a escape boat an' Elan pursued him. Tha boat capsized during the fightin' an Kabuto got knocked unconscious an pulled under. Elan tried ta save 'im, but he'd drowned by the time 'e could get to him." Looking towards the bard, Durkon added sympathetically, "Isn't tha right, Elan?"

"Yeah." Elan said meekly, his smile nervous and faltering. "That's exactly what happened." His smile turned into a concerned little frown as he said, "I'm sorry Therkla."

Therkla wondered if the dwarf knew Elan gave penalties to bluff checks. Maybe if it had just been Durkon himself to comment on what happened she'd have believed it. Then again, maybe not. She'd let the issue drop, for Elan's sake. But she fully intended to find out the truth of her master's death eventually, one way or the other.

She was taken by surprise, however, when a cup of tea was forced under her nose. The strength of the brew, she would have to admit, helped clear out any of the grogginess that had remained from her slowly recovering system. "Drink this." A firm female voice said. Turning her head to the other side, Therkla let out a small, barely audible breath as she saw the newest participant in the discussion.

Miko Miyazaki, the most powerful of the paladins that made up the Sapphire Guard. Despite having never talked with the woman before, she was more than familiar with her; she had been a high-priority threat she and her men had worked to avoid during their attempts to take Lord Shojo's life. Therkla had merely observed the woman before, sizing her up in case she had ever needed to confront the woman in combat. A few of her ninjas had the unfortunate luck to have run into the paladin during attempts on the previous Lord of Azure City's life, and she had learned at least a few things about the way the woman fought from that. For a week after the battle, she and Kabuto had believed the woman had perished during the battle for the city. Needless to say, Kabuto was less than pleased when Miko's presence had been discovered upon Hinjo's junk. Considering the paladin's noted fanatical loyalty to the throne, they had expected eliminating Hinjo would be a much more difficult task.

Yet Therkla had noticed a distinct change in the woman with her reappearance. She rarely left the room she had taken up on the ship, and when she did it was only for a few minutes to get some air. Therkla knew from her observations that Miko had always been solitary in nature, but just how rarely she left her cabin was extreme even for her. Even odder was the fact that she never wore the garb traditional given to the paladins of the Sapphire Guard, nor carried a proper weapon. Instead, she had taken to wearing a mere set of common clothes and carrying a shinai though, even then, Therkla had learned that Miyazaki was deadly even without a weapon.

Most telling was the pair of guards set outside Miyazaki's room, no matter what the time of day was. For awhile, Therkla believed that Miyazaki had come down with some condition that had hampered her from fighting, perhaps a severe injury during the battle with the lich and its army, and was being guarded as a sign of respect for her service. Yet it had become clear that the dwarven cleric was high enough level to heal most, if not all, of the conditions the paladin could have been inflicted with. Whatever the case, the fact that Miko had been incapable of interfering had made it easier to plot against Hinjo than would have been expected.

Simply staring into the cup, Therkla took it, hesitantly. She held the cup in her hands, uncertain what to do with it. It was unlikely that the tea had been tampered with; it smelled natural enough, and Durkon and Elan wouldn't have been permitted to help her if it had been planned to just kill her anyway. Still, she couldn't shake the distrust bred in her towards her current captors, for lack of a better word, that had been bred in her by Kabuto.

"I know Miko can be mean and, well, scary sometimes, but her tea is actually pretty good." Elan said in encouragement. "You should really try it."

Therkla brought her eyes up from the cup to look at Durkon, to Elan who was smiling down at her, to Miko, who had moved over to the other side of the room and was sitting beside a small, planted tree, watching it intently as if it was the most important thing in the world. Cautiously, she brought the cup to her lips and took a sip.

Elan was right, the tea was wonderful. It had a balance between a bitter tang to it, and a slight sweetness. She found that she was soon no longer sipping it, but draining the cup, letting out a small sigh as she finished a put the cup at the side of the bed. She could feel the warmth of the drink settling through her, causing her to feel a pleasant weariness. She hadn't noticed just how bad off her constitution score was until now; she was lucky that it hadn't hit 0.

Putting a hand on his back, Durkon said to Elan, "I think we should leave 'er to rest fer the night, lad." Turning back to Therkla, he said, "Rest up, an' I'll have some spells to finish fixin' up yer stats tomorrow."

Therkla simply nodded in response to the statement, sinking in beneath the covers. She

could hear Elan wishing her a good night as she fell into a restful sleep.

When Therkla awoke again, she saw that Miko had hardly shifted from her position beside the tree. There was a small plate of food beside the woman now, and a small canister of water she was pouring into the tree. Groggily, Therkla asked, "Is it morning?"

"No." Miko replied, placing the canister of water down beside her as she took up her plate. "You've been asleep for two hours, perhaps three."

That was another difference Therkla added to her list about Miko; she had begun to talk in an overly formal tone, nearly reaching a monotone. Not that Miko's speech hadn't been absurdly formal before, but at least in Azure City there was clear emotion in the woman's voice. It was usually irritation or self-righteous indignation, but emotion none the less. Now, it was like talking to a programmed magical message, absolutely no emotion behind it. Therkla found it incredibly disconcerting; something had happened to Miko, either in the city or on the ship that had clearly changed her.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Clearing her throat as grogginess left her, Therkla said, "The, uh, the tea you made was great. Did you come up with the recipe yourself?"

"Partially." Miko responded, her eyes focused on the tree. Therkla noticed how meager and pathetic the small tree looked, completely barren except for a few leaves that clung desperately to its thin branches. "It was a recipe from the monastery I grew up in. I've made a few changes to it over the years to better suit my tastes."

"Oh." Therkla responded simply, shifting in her bed to face Miko more thoroughly. She could think of little else to say to the woman. What could she say? The two of them had nothing to relate on, aside from the fact that she had attempted to kill Shojo for years, and Miko had protected Lord Shojo for years. She soon found, however, that she was quite hungry, her stomach growling in protest. Looking at the plate Miko held, she licked her lips and asked, "Do you think you could see if they could get me a plate too?"

Therkla let out a small breath of surprise as Miko approached the bed and held the plate of food out to her, the paladin bowing her head. "Take it."

"What?" Therkla said, eyeing the plate. What was the woman doing? In all her observations in studying the woman, she had never observed Miko demonstrate subservience towards anyone aside from Shojo.

"The food. It's yours."

"But your dinner…"

"I'm full." Miko said emotionlessly. Therkla was at a lose; she found she couldn't get a handle on the woman to any degree. So, slowly, she took the plate from the paladin's hands.

"Thank you." Therkla said lightly as she began to eat, watching as Miko took her place beside the tree yet again. Eating in silence for a moment, she finally couldn't contain it any longer and asked, "What's with the tree?"

She thought Miko hadn't heard her at first, and was prepared to ask again, when the paladin finally responded. "After the explosion of Soon's Gate, I found myself flung onto this ship, unconscious and near death." Miko began, her tone of voice never changing. "In my wounded state, I had a visitation from Soon Kim himself." Miko allowed the words to sink in for a minute, apparently expecting Therkla to be overcome with reverence. Therkla knew of Soon Kim, of course, but she barely considered him or had that much interest in him.

When she felt she had allowed Therkla enough time to think on the implication of such a vision, Miko continued. "In my vision, Soon Kim took me to the forest that lay behind the monastery I grew up in. There, he showed me three trees. The first was strong and stout, having been planted in good soil and surrounded by several other trees of its kind. The second tree was pathetic and withered. It was planted in the same soil as the first tree, yet faltered all the same, standing in complete isolation apart from the first tree."

Miko fell into silence again, as if contemplating the story so far. Finally, she said, "The third tree was small and withered, just as the second one was, and was planted in poor soil. And yet Soon Kim showed me that, if it was shown care, it could grow to be as strong as the first tree. Once I was healed enough, I had asked to be allowed to raise a small tree in my quarters. I knew that the story was a parable, and yet I felt the desire to see if I could raise a tree as poor off as the third one shown to me to eventually bloom as that one had." Miko paused once more before finishing, "In many ways, ninja, the third tree reminds me of you."

Therkla nearly choked on the food she was swallowing. Fighting the lump down, she turned back to face Miko and, uncertain, asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that your master, Kabuto, was a corrupt near tyrant. A monster." Miko's voice remained as passionless as it had been the entire conversation, despite the fact that she had brought out some of the words that usually marked the most impassioned moments of anything she talked on. "Because of this, of the influence upon you, you should have ended up just as bad. And yet, you showed that you were capable of good in your rejection of him from what I was told by the bard. Despite the poor conditions in which you have resided, you were capable of becoming a force of good." Pausing yet again, Miko added, "At one point, not long ago, I'd have assumed you'd have been incapable of good due to who you served. I'd have distrusted anything said by the bard, as well."

"What caused the change?" Therkla asked, her voice becoming soft. She had been completely unprepared for Miko's speech. She found herself drawn between being oddly honored and skeptical, as if the paladin was trying to somehow force some information out of her by softening her up.

"Along with the vision given to me by Soon, there have been a few other…events recently that have caused me to reevaluate what I thought I knew." Miko responded, pouring a little more water into the base of the tree. "In many ways, I think the vision Soon showed me was supposed to relate to some of those I know. In the same way you remind me of the third tree, Lord Hinjo reminds me of the first." Despite her monotone, it was clear Miko was unused to referring to Hinjo as her liege. "I had never expected it at first, but it's clear to me now how honorable Hinjo is, and how well he can deal with our people. Perhaps he was always that way, and I merely never noticed." Miko went quiet, and yet had turned her gaze from the tree to meet Therkla's own.

After a few moments of silence, Therkla cut in, "And the second tree? Do you have a parallel for that?"

"I do."

"And that would be?"

Miko's gaze remained on Therkla for a second before slowly shifting back towards the tree. Still in a monotone, Miko's voice took on a distinctly quiet tone as she said, "I feel tired. I think I shall be going to sleep soon."

"Alright." Therkla replied, placing her plate on the floor beside the bed. She realized that it would be best not to push the paladin on the subject; there was something clearly wrong with Miko. Not dangerous, but clearly out of whack. Adjusting the covers over her, Therkla said quietly, "Good night, Miko."

Still gazing at her tree, Miko responded, "Good night, ninja."

Therkla drifted off into a pleasant, dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Therkla rubbed her eyes as she awoke, turning her head to the side slightly to keep from looking into the small beam of light that shot into the room from the window above her bed. Smacking her lips as she lifted herself out of the groggy haze that settles around everyone after sleep, she drew the curtains opened and turned her head from the window, briefly blinded by the early morning sunlight. She blinked a few times, letting her eyes adjust to the now sunlit cabin. She stretched as she got up from the bed, letting out a muffled moan as she felt her joints creak lightly. Not as bad as last night, but she hoped Durkon would come along soon with his spells to help her regain her remaining constitution.

Her ears twitched slightly as they caught a soft whistling sound. She leaped towards the bed and had to fight to keep herself from diving behind the other side. Her instincts had taken over and assumed the noise to be another assassin's weapon, perhaps a dart or a thrown dagger that had just barely missed her. Perhaps it was Miko herself. Maybe Hinjo had decided to kill her anyway, and had placed her in the room with Miko in order to assure that it was done.

Therkla shook her head to clear her thoughts. Highly unlikely. Despite Miko's seeming willingness to do anything for the Sapphire Guard and the Lord they served, Therkla doubted that the paladin would even consider attempting to stab an opponent in the back. Miko was too forthright and clear in her intentions, even in a battle. Therkla wondered if the paladin, even in the unsettling state that had fallen upon her, was capable of duplicity. Calming her breathing and attempting to settle down from the rush of adrenaline that had come over her, she turned around to see what the sound could have been.

It was Miko, though not attacking her. The paladin had taken a duelist's stance, both her hands wrapped around the hilt of her shinai, swinging it down in what almost seemed a rhythm. Therkla nearly slapped her head in frustration with herself; observing Miko's daily routine had been one of her first steps in preparing for the possibility of a confrontation with her that Therkla had taken, and she knew that the paladin always began her day with a short exercise ritual.

Still, Therkla couldn't help but notice that the exercise didn't seem to be doing much for the woman, despite the fact that Miko was exercising as vigorously as she usually did (at least, as much as she could in a cabin on a ship).The paladin's muscle tone was clearly starting to atrophy, and in the better light of day, Therkla could see the clear outline of Miko's shoulder blades jutting against her skin. If she went over and touched her, Therkla was sure she would be able to feel the paladin's ribcage.

The ninja felt a jolt of sadness pass through her. Short and quick, but clearly there. Despite knowing the distinct possibility that one of the two of them could end up dead on the end of the other's blade in fulfilling their duties, Therkla had always been able to appreciate the caliber of warrior Miko was. Or at least, had been; she wondered if the paladin would even be able to still swing a real katana in her current state. And with Kabuto dead, as much as that still stung her, Therkla found that she was free to apply herself to any new task she chose; at least, until the ships finally reached a permanent port, where she didn't doubt she'd be put on trial for conspiring with Kabuto. But until that moment came, she realized that what she wanted to do was to help Miko regain what she had been; to find the reason she had sunken into the stupor she was currently in and lead the paladin back towards the warrior she had been, to return Miko to the caliber of warrior she had been. That Therkla had secretly admired and considered her rival.

Clearing her throat with a short cough, Therkla called out in a light, what she hoped was pleasant, voice, "Good morning, Miko."

"Good morning." Miko responded, her eyes never moving from in front of her as she practiced. "Are you feeling any better."

"A bit. I'll feel better once Durkon get's here."

Miko let out a small sound of acknowledgement as she continued to practice. Tapping her chin, Therkla began to think of what to do next. Bantering and diplomacy weren't exactly her strong suits, and despite her usual ability to judge others by their actions and voice, she found herself struggling with how to communicate with the paladin. Cautiously, Therkla walked over towards Miko and, gently wrapping her own hands around the hilt, attempted to take the shinai away.

She was surprised how little resistance she got from the paladin as she took the practice sword. Therkla wondered if Miko was giving it to her, or if the paladin's grip on the sword was honestly that weak. Copying the stance Miko had taken as much as she could and tightened her grip on the hilt.

The blank expression that had remained on Miko's face since arriving on the ship broke slightly as she narrowed her eyebrows. Her voice, too, allowed a little bit of emotion, of curiosity, to seep through as she asked the ninja, "What are you…?"

"Ha!" Therkla shouted, swinging the shinai down in front of her. She let a small smile creep on her lips as she saw Miko's dumbstruck expression, the paladin standing beside her and having jumped back slightly from surprise. It wasn't much, but she was glad elicited some kind of reaction from the paladin. "How was that?"

Miko merely stared at the ninja for a moment before letting out a befuddled, "What?"

"The practice swing." Therkla clarified, freeing one of her hands to point at the bamboo sword. "How was it? I'm not used to using weapons much bigger than a dagger, maybe a short sword at largest."

"And the reason you're starting now is because…?" Miko let hang. Therkla's smile grew a little wider as she saw Miko's expression change to a cynical scowl. That, at least, was something that looked natural on the woman.

"I'm thinking of multiclassing a bit. Maybe into fighter. Considering yesterday, I could use the higher hit die for a bit. The Fort bonus too." Shrugging, Therkla finished, "If I'm going for it, might as well train to use a higher damage weapon a bit too." Raising the shinai again, she attempted another swing. This time, her grip on the hilt failed, and the weapon went flying out of her hands into the wall. Grimacing a little, she added, "I'm kind of hoping it'll be a while before I level up again."

Simply looking at the wooden blade for a minute, Miko went to retrieve. Therkla expected that Miko was tired of the little show she was putting on and intended to simply start practicing again herself. Therkla wasn't expecting it when the paladin handed her the shinai again and said, "Grip it."

Therkla took the sword and held it. Miko shook her head and said, "You're holding it wrong. Place your right hand where the hilt meets the blade, and the left near the bottom."

Readjusting her hands, Therkla held the sword out straight. It certainly felt better than how she had been attempting to grip it earlier. Standing beside her, Miko took the position she had been earlier. Looking towards Therkla, she said, "Now stance. Left foot forward, right behind, about an inch and a half apart. Bend your knees slightly to look your position."

"Well, this is uncomfortable. No wonder you people have to rely on armor to avoid getting hit if this is what you have to do to swing a sword."

"We'll practice movement later. Let's finish proper stance first." The confidant, borderline self-righteous tone of voice that had characterized Miko for so many years was finding its way back into her voice. Therkla found herself glad to see the woman begin to recover her old self. She also found herself fighting the urge to whack the woman with the shinai for taking that particular tone of voice with her. "Now swing." Miko said.

The swing felt far better to Therkla than it had before. Her arms had far greater freedom of movement than the cramped feeling of her previous attempts. She looked over to Miko and had to keep herself from sighing in irritation when the paladin said, "Better. Not good, but better."

"Calm down, Miko. Don't be overcome with emotion or anything." Therkla retorted. Despite how aggravating the conversation was becoming, she was glad that she had at least been able to engage the paladin. If she just had a little more time, perhaps she could fully bring Miko out of the reclusive (well, more so than usual) shell she had kept herself trapped in.

"I'll certainly work on it in the future, ninja."

"Miko, I was joking." Therkla responded, leaning against the shinai. "It's Therkla, by the way." Her voice becoming slightly more playful, she added, "Believe it or not, just because I was a 'bad guy' at one time doesn't mean I'm some nameless evil."

Clasping her hands together, Miko bowed solemnly as she said, "I apologize, Therkla. I did not mean to dishonor you."

"Hey, come on." Therkla said. She was slightly embarrassed at the reaction she had gotten from the woman. How Miko had transformed from stifling self-righteousness to unbearably meek confounded her. A part of her was disgusted by it, a mean, spiteful part she tried to keep bottled down as much as she could. "Don't do that."

She put a hand on Miko's shoulder and was surprised by how quickly the paladin recoiled from her touch. She would have been offended, if she weren't concerned by the fact that Miko's expression had taken on the unreadable form it had earlier. She was about to say something before an enthusiastic knocking came from the door. "Breakfast time!" Elan's voice drifted in through the door.

"Come in." Miko responded, her voice returning to the monotone Therkla had been working so hard to get rid of. She kept her distance from the half-orc, eyes watching her as a small animal would watch a wolf in preparation to bolt.

Elan practically flung the door open, a smile plastered across his face with a plate of food in hand. "Good morning!" The young bard's voice contained a constant musical tone, made more obvious whenever he was in a good mood. As far as Therkla could tell, he was nearly always in a good mood. Walking over to Miko, he handed the plate to the plate to the paladin, who meekly accepted it. If Elan was at all disturbed by the paladin's bizarre humility, he didn't show it. Turning to Therkla, he said, "Durkon should be up in a few…hours." He gave a small shrug of helplessness; the dwarf had already proven himself a late sleeper when it could be afforded.

"I can wait." Therkla responded, facing the bard but eyes pointed towards the floor. She knew that she'd have to get over the sweet young man eventually; he'd made it clear that friendship was as far as the two could go. But it would take time, and Therkla blamed herself entirely for it. She had been trained not to let others in. In her line of work, she couldn't afford to let others in; who knew who might be another assassin or double agent, waiting to stab her in the back.

It was her fault for trying to reach out to another. Despite knowing that she was making a similar mistake by reaching out to the paladin, she couldn't help it. There was something that fascinated her about Miko that had always fascinated her about the paladin. She had taken so much life in her career as Kabuto's top assassin that for once, she'd like to see if she could actually help someone. Perhaps, finally, she could achieve some kind of change that others could acknowledge, that she could feel proud of for a reason than simply doing her lord's will. "So, where's my breakfast?" Therkla asked.

"Don't you want to come eat with the others?" Elan inquired, tilting his head quizzically, a thumb pointing over his shoulder towards the door.

Therkla simply stood still for a minute, looking towards the paladin. Miko had taken her usual place by her tree, having put her plate by her side. The food remained completely untouched and forgotten, the woman's attention focused fully on the plant. Turning to Elan, the ninja asked, "And Miko can't come with us because…?"

Elan's smile faltered slightly, a weak chuckle escaping his lips. "Well, ah, you see…Miko likes to eat in here because she…because…" Elan's found himself debating between several different stories, yet didn't feel comfortable with any of them. Not because they were bad stories; in fact, he felt that the story that Miko had become allergic to the sun had some potential. Yet he felt bad whenever he had to lie, especially to someone proving themselves as great a friend as Therkla had by showing a willingness to lay down their life for him. The guilt he felt for having to deny Therkla's feelings didn't help either. But he couldn't tell the actual story behind Miko's isolation, even if it was a good (but sad) story. Hinjo had made it clear that if her crime had become public knowledge before they found a new location to settle and re-establish a working government, they'd most likely find themselves fighting back lynch mobs attempting to get at the fallen paladin.

Miko settled the problem by simply stating, "I can't leave the cabin." The calm monotone of her voice sent a chill down both Therkla and Elan's spines as she said, "I'm under arrest for treason." Looking towards Therkla, she finished, "Surely you noticed I was under guard?"

"Treason?" Therkla's voice was soft, as if unable to believe it. It made perfect sense, of course; there was little reason to put a guard around Miyazaki unless she had committed some sort of infraction, considering the paladin had proven herself more than capable of defending herself. But treason…it at least explained why the paladin had fallen into such a near stupor. "What did you do?"

"How did Lord Shojo die?" Miko asked. The question, which seemed so mundane, took an unsettling tone with the emerging information.

"He had a heart attack." Therkla said weakly. The explanation had seemed plausible, considering Shojo's known terrible health. Her mind had begun to reel as realization of what had truly happened began to unravel in front of her. She surprised herself in finding she was hoping Miko wasn't about to tell her the truth of what happened, a truth she had already puzzled out.

Miko's body shuddered for a minute, her head slowing tilting back before a slow, drawn out laughter emerged from her. "A heart attack." Her voice retained its calm monotone despite the distortion of the laughter. "That's what they told you? Shojo didn't die from a heart attack."

"I know." Therkla's voice was a whisper, her eyes locking with Miko's. This couldn't be real. All the observations she had made on the paladin, all the years she spent watching her, documenting her fighting style to prepare to take her down if it came to that in order to carry out Kabuto's orders…she couldn't have been that off base.

"Do you?" Miko's face contorted into a smile, mirthless and cold and devoid of emotion, a simple reflex. "Not surprising. Do you think I didn't know Lord Shojo's enemies would have agents watching me as they prepared to attack him?"

"Breakfast, breakfast, breakfast, breakfast would taste good right now." Elan sung weakly, placing his hand on Therkla's shoulder to try and lead her out of the room.

Therkla shrugged the bard's hand off of her. Under any other circumstance, she would have treasured contact with the bard, despite knowing any other intimacy with him would be forbidden to her. "Miko…" She replied weakly, searching for something to say. Maybe she was wrong…after all, this was Miko Miyazaki, the Sapphire Guard's most stalwart defender. Her observations had to be correct…she couldn't have been wrong…

"You asked me if I knew who the second tree in my vision was supposed to be. A tree that, despite being planted in good soil, remained a pathetic, withered thing." Miko's voice remained emotionless, though Therkla could make out the beginning of a tear in her eyes. "That tree was me." Taking a shaky breath, Miko's voice broke from its emotionless charade, pain flooding through it as she proclaimed, "Lord Shojo did not die from a heart attack. I murdered Lord Shojo."


	3. Chapter 3

The silence in the room seemed almost oppressive, as if Miko's words weighed down the atmosphere itself. Therkla found herself clenching and unclenching her hand, a subconscious reaction she had developed to keep herself from blurting out during moments of stress. That Miko would have snapped in some way wasn't entirely surprising. Despite the collected demeanor the paladin had attempted to put, there was something clearly wrong with her if you but looked closer. In many ways, Kabuto had been banking on the woman snapping and being imprisoned as the most beneficial way of getting her out of the way while avoiding the distinct possibility of more of his House's assassins dying then needed.

Though fighting it, Therkla allowed a small frown to form. It wasn't that Kabuto necessarily cared for his ninjas; hell, he hadn't even seen her as anything more than an important asset. Her death would have counted as a setback more than anything worth mourning. It didn't bother her anymore (or ever again, she figured). She had long come to accept that the affection she had felt for the man was one-sided, that he'd never had seen her as the daughter figure she had wanted to be.

[I]Clench. Unclench.[/I]

She shook her head as she looked over at the once-proud paladin who had been made nearly as humble after her fall. Miko had turned her attention from Therkla and Elan back to the tree, fixated on the plant. Therkla struggled to find something to say to the woman that could have any meaning to her. Her struggle ending fruitlessly, with her shaking her head in disappointment. Giving a small sigh, she turned to leave for breakfast. Elan lightly patted on the shoulder, smiling at her gently; what he lacked in intelligence and common sense, he seemed to be able to more than make up with empathy.

"Are you done then?" Miko asked, never turning to face the two of them.

Facing the door, Therkla asked "Done with what?"

"With your attempt to trap me."

[I]Clench[/I]

Therkla turned around, confounded by what the woman could be trying to get at. "Trap you?" She said each word slowly, as if only now discovering them. "Into what?'

[I]Unclench[/I]

"Do not play coy with me." Miko's monotone broke once more, this time into indignation, before resurfacing again. "You knew that I was under arrest, and simply wanted to know the cause. That is the reason you engaged me, to try and guile me into telling you what it was."

[I]Clench[/I]

Therkla turned back to face the paladin, her mouth hanging slightly open. Even if Miko's pride had flipped itself over into humility, her paranoia was apparently still working at full force. "Miko, you've got it wrong."

"Do I?" Miko asked blandly, raising an eyebrow as she turned her head to face the half-orc.

[I]Unclench[/I]

"Yes." Therkla let out a small breath of relief. Even if so little had been said between the two of them, she wanted to get along with the paladin. After all, the two of them could very well be roommates for awhile if the fleet was still unable to find a port to settle in. They could very well be cellmates, all things considering, when the ships landed.

"Then you merely meant to embarrass me, is that it?" The sting of the question was elevated by the dull tone of voice Miko took.

[I]Clench[/I]

"WHAT?" Therkla's voice filled the room. She was surprised by how loud she could be; screaming didn't tend to lend itself well when attempting to go unnoticed.

"You talked with me simply to get under my guard so you could force me to admit my faults for your own amusement." Miko's eyes stayed glued to the half-orc, emotion completely lost within them. "Why else would you show any interest in my exercise?"

"Maybe…maybe we should go." Elan, forgotten and uncommonly quiet during the exchange between the women, implored. He hated seeing people fighting with each other, or being miserable in general. He'd found that it was a lost cause to try and cheer Miko up, but if he could find some way to keep Therkla happy at least, he'd take it.

"Go ahead. I'll meet you in a minute." The half-orcs' voice remained calm, though Elan could hear the strain that had started to seep in.

"Therkla, are you…"

"[I]Go.[/I]" her voice was a snarl, the small fangs at each side of her mouth seeming to become more pronounced. She felt a pang of guilt as she watched Elan sneak out the door, concern for her well-being still evident in his expression. Therkla averted her attention to the floor as she felt rage fill her, a rage she had struggled with for years. She told herself that it was simply an effect due to the orc blood that ran in her. She alone couldn't simply have that much rage. Her fist began to shake, an outlet to keep her from completely letting the anger that ran through her take hold of her entirely.

Taking a deep breath, Therkla responded, "I wasn't trying to trick you, Miko." She monitored her voice, trying to make sure her mounting anger wasn't becoming any more evident than it already was. "I just…I wanted to talk with you, and I didn't know how to start."

Miko simply stared at the woman for a moment. "And do you want to talk to me still?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Her fist had stopped shaking, though remained clenched.

Miko stood up, eyes fixing on her tree for a minute before returning to Therkla again. "Really? You'd want to talk to a murderer?"

"It really wouldn't be different than any other day for me."

"None of the other murderers you know condemned an entire nation to destruction." The neglect Miko had shown her own body was showing its toll more and more. Therkla found herself wondering when the last time the paladin had slept was. "If I had not slain Lord Shojo, Azure City would-"

"It would've still been overrun." Therkla responded coolly. Maybe if she could find some way to nip the center of the self-loathing that had overtaken the woman, she could start to form some actual connection with her. "Listen, even if it was Lord Shojo trying to set up a defense, the nobles would've deserted him. Sure his death helped demoralize the people, but even the slight boost of morale he could have given wouldn't have made a difference. There was just too much working against us from the start."

"And that excuses my actions?" Miko's voice was a hiss issuing through grated teeth, fury igniting in her eyes. Not desirable, but at least it was an emotion. Her body quivered for a moment, her voice cracking as she continued. "Do you know what it's like to find yourself afraid to sleep? Afraid because you know the moment you close your eyes you won't be able to get the image of the man who helped you achieve your potential…" tears began to form in her eyes, and she violently shook her head to be rid of them, "…who raised you…to see him die at your hands…to feel the warmth of his blood as it hits your face-"

"You're not the only one who's lost a father."

"I'm the only one who's murdered theirs, however." Miko regained her composure, the fear and sadness leaving as if they had melded back into her. "For that, I intend to make sure I receive the punishment I'm due."

Therkla found herself unable to keep her expression neutral, a frown overtaking her features. Attempting to talk with Miko, it seemed, entitled a constantly shifting set of emotions. "You made a mistake." She said softly, attempting to return to the affable tone she had with Miko before. "You've realized you were wrong. You can still make up for it."

"How?"

"Maybe if you show you're penitent, you'll be shown mercy." Therkla walked slowly towards the paladin as she talked. "Maybe they'll send you on a quest or something to atone. You could become a paladin again."

"A quest." A corner of Miko's mouth twitched slightly, curving into a small, pointed smile. "You think that's all it takes to make up for what I did? To just wander around, smiting what I thought were 'evildoers' when the real evil-doer was with me the entire time." Her voice had lifted into a hollow and ugly laugh. "Tell me, how would that solve anything?"

Therkla bit her bottom lip to stifle a scream. Despite having peered on several of the paladin's conversations before, she hadn't realized just how insufferable talking to the woman was until she had tried it herself. She could feel her fist begin to shake again, and attempted to stop it. "You're right." Her voice came out struggling for control. "Why go out and try to do some good in the world? You're better off just sitting in a dark room, letting yourself wither away." She let out a short cruel laugh. "You're sure making a lot out of having survived a battle that killed most of your city's defenders, huh?"

"You don't understand." Miko's right hand shot out, index finger pointing at the half-orc. "You [I]can't[/I] understand."

"I can't understand what?" Therkla gave up any attempt to be polite to the woman. There was no warrior left in her, nothing to admire; just a withered shell. "What it's like to lose something important to you? Something you lived for? You're not that special, Miko."

"I know I'm not special." Miko turned and sat down yet again in front of the tree, resting her chin in her palm. "I'm nothing."

Therkla turned away from the paladin and headed towards the door, boots stomping loudly on the boards of the cabin. She brushed past the guards beside the door easily and stomped towards the small group on deck eating their breakfast. She resisted the urge to strike one of the walls of the ship or the ground; any other time she had attempted to relieve her anger through a physical means, she'd simply wound up in a near rage. Besides, if Miko wanted to refuse any help given to her, to decide to simply rot away when she could be saved, then to hell with her, right? She wasn't going to waste any more of her time on the woman.

Yet Therkla knew she was lying to herself. For some reason, she found she couldn't let the idea of saving Miko go. She supposed it was due to the fact that of everyone left that had survived the battle and the following three months at sea, she was the most familiar with the fallen paladin. All of the years of spying on the woman on Kabuto's orders had bred a sense of familiarity with the woman, despite the fact that Therkla had never tried to openly approach her until today. In an odd way, Miko was the only remaining piece of the life she had remaining from the destruction of Azure City, and she didn't want to let it go.

Her thoughts were quickly broken as she lurched back, a plate of food nearly striking her in the lips. She was prepared to yell at whatever numbskull had thought forcing the plate towards her was a good idea until she noticed it was Elan. Smiling his goofy smile, he told her, "I saved you a plate."

Therkla nodded and took the plate gratefully, smiling back. She didn't trust herself to speak, not with her emotions strung so high. She sat down on deck and, taking up her chopsticks, began to eat. She let out a small sound of pleasure, the food still warm. The bard sat down beside her, and the two ate in agreeable silence with one another. Therkla smirked as she watched the blonde-hair man eat; he'd found himself overly clumsy with chopsticks, and hate taken to eating his meals with a fork he had apparently packed away with him. The sight was cute to her, in its own odd way.

She felt a far stronger wave of warmth enter her body as she felt a firm hand place itself on her back. "Restoration." Durkon's voice was soft and comforting, and she felt the remaining strength she had lost from the poison come flooding back into her. The dwarf sat down on the other side of Elan, resting his own plate of food on his lap. Looking towards Therkla, he asked, "Sleep well, lass?"

"For the most part, yeah." Therkla rolled her head a few times, limbering up. Bowing her head slightly to the dwarf, she said, "Thank you. For saving me."

Smiling slightly as he ate, Durkon replied, "Think nothing o' it. It's me duty in this life ta do so."

Finishing his plate, Elan sat the empty dish and curled his arms around his legs as he sat. "So…" he began, voice brimming with optimism as he turned to face the cleric, "did you get a reply?"

Durkon's smile faded as he shook his head, Elan sighing and looking down into his lap. Therkla felt a pang of jealousy shoot through her. Therkla hoped whoever the woman was that Elan was pining for was just as miserable as he was, was torturing herself to get in touch with him. Therkla took a hasty bite of her food, trying to drive her current pattern of thought out; she'd already gotten upset more than she needed to once today; no sense in doing it again.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" The new voice was strong, but considerate. Looking up, Therkla found herself facing Hinjo, the current lord of Azure City. Or, at least, its people. His upbringing and royal heritage was obvious, though he possessed a sense of humility that was welcome rather than stifling, as Miko's forced one had been.

"I'd think ya should be free to." Durkon replied amiably, trying to provide an optimistic mood to cheer up his companion. "It's yer junk we're all gathered on, after all."

"So it is." Hinjo replied, a smile crossing his lips as he sat across from them. "Even after all these months, I can't get over the fact that it's mine now." Taking a small bit of food in his chopsticks, he said pleasantly as he looked at the ninja, "And you're Therkla, correct?"

Therkla nearly choked on her food, eventually swallowing the painful lump of food as she overcame her shock. How the man could sound so pleasant towards her after the times she and her men had tried to assassinate him confounded her. Placing her plate on the planks in front of her, she bowed before the man as she said, "I am, Lord Hinjo." She spoke quickly, nearly stammering the words out. She was unaccustomed to showing etiquette for nobility to anyone aside from Kabuto.

"Please don't do that." Hinjo replied quickly, waving a hand to have her sit back down. She was shocked by the young lord's own embarrassment, making it clear that he still hadn't become used to being looked upon as his people's ruler. Sitting back down, she wondered how long it would take him to get used to it. He surprised her again when his voice returned to its pleased tone as he said, "Elan told me about you."

Looking at her plate, she stated, "So you know I was behind all the attempts to kill you?"

"Yeah, but he also knows you tried to stop Kabuto too, and that he almost killed you for it." Elan added hastily.

The bard's words seemed to have little effect on the woman. Looking up at Hinjo, she asked with her best poker face, "So what now?"

Placing his own plate beside him, Hinjo matched her gaze as he replied, "I'm afraid yours crimes will have to be brought up with the magistrates and court once we land. Unfortunately, it would seem I'm the one quickest to forgive you for trying to kill me." He offered this last bit cheerily. When Therkla's expression didn't soften, he added, "While your crimes would be severe, the fact that you eventually rejected Kabuto's orders says something about your character. I intend to see if I can afford you some leniency."

"You think a lot better of me than you should." Therkla turned her gaze from the paladin, eyes floating to look at the floor. She was tempted to tell him that, if it hadn't been for the bard, there was little chance she would have ever disobeyed Kabuto. She tried to cut that line of thought off; there was no sense is sending herself spiraling into self-loathing like Miko had.

"Maybe." Hinjo replied, taking his plate back up as he began to eat again. "But I don't think so. It's a rare case when someone is completely beyond redemption. I'd be surprised if it was out of your reach."

"What about Miko?" The words slipped out of her without thought. Therkla found herself surprised by her own question, having thought she had been able to push the woman out of her thoughts for at least a few moments. Instead, she found the image of the woman coming clearly to her mind, and the rage she had felt towards the slowly dying woman was replaced with sadness. Mouth agape, she grasped for something else to say as her dining companions stared at her for a moment.

Clearing his throat, Hinjo asked, "How much do you know about Miko's…infraction?"

"Enough." She mentally kicked herself for her rudeness towards the man. Swallowing, she replied, "I know what she did, but not why she did it."

"It's a long story, and not mine to tell." Hinjo began, one of his palms unfurled in front of him as he spoke. Pausing for a moment, he continued, "I want to forgive Miko; the fact that she feels repentant for her actions shows that she realizes she did something wrong. But instead of working towards redeeming herself, she's chosen to condemn herself. It's as if she doesn't understand she's been given a chance so few others have ever had." A bit of anger entered Hinjo's voice as he spoke.

Taking a deep breath, he looked Therkla in the eyes. The half-orc was amazed to see genuine concern there, concern for a woman who had murdered his last living relative. His tone was almost pleading as he continued, "If she were to just try and help herself, to find a different way to express her sorrow for her actions to me, I'd do what I could to help her, to try and get her a sentence aside from what otherwise awaits her. To give her the chance to redeem herself." He closed his eyes as he finished, "But she has to be able to help herself first. I can't carry her load myself, and I don't want to be forced to throw her aside and let her sink."

The three sat in silence for a moment before Therkla took her plate and stood up. Wetting her lips, she said, "If you don't mind, I think I'd like to finish my meal in my cabin."

A small smile curved onto Hinjo's lips as he bowed his head slightly. "You're excused."

Turning to leave, Therkla turned back for a short moment as Elan called out. "Hey!" The bard smiled at her, his voice enthusiastic as he said, "Good luck!"

Therkla smiled as she headed back to Miko.

Miko looked at the door as the half-orc slammed it shut. She sighed, a light rattling sound, as she stood back up. She felt bad at having spoken the way she did to the ninja. She was displeased by that; she had fallen into a comfortable numbness before they had placed the ninja in her cabin. At first, she had thought the other woman wouldn't have been a distraction, that she'd have minded her own business as Miko would mind hers. She felt guilt at having treated Therkla the way she did, and found that her numbness hadn't let her escape guilt's grasp as she had thought. That bothered her, but she knew it wouldn't do so for long.

She went over to the window curtains the half-orc had opened and closed them, plunging the room into the dimness she had grown accustomed to. She returned to her tree and sat down, gritting her teeth as her joints creaked in pain. She could feel her ribs digging against her chest and breathed in deeply, ignoring the pain. The pain would only be momentary now; soon, she'd settle into the numbness she had been looking for since the battle. She found her mind suddenly rolling back to Therkla, and she wondered which martial class the half-orc would pursue. She needed some more training before she could hope to use a shinai correctly, let alone a martial weapon.

Miko shook her head, driving the thoughts back. What happened to the half-orc wasn't her concern. The only thing that mattered to her now was the pleasant darkness and her tree. One of the leaves from the tree's thin, brittle branches fell from its spot, and Miko extended her hand to catch it. It lightly touched her palm and rested there, and Miko studied it; to her surprise, there seemed to be a soft, blue light emitting from it.

"You know, I don't think the diet was necessary Miko." The leaf slipped through her fingers at the sound of the voice, and Miko realized the light wasn't coming from the leaf. It was coming from behind her.

"Hell, I always thought you were a bit skinny even before this." Straining, Miko stood up again and slowly peered behind her. "You could have done with a bit more on your plate now and then."

She felt the breath leave her lungs at the sight, her body trembling. He appeared as she remembered him, not as he was in his last years; old, but still powerful and regal in appearance, his hair a pepper grey instead of pure white, his posture straight and unstrained. But most of all she knew the smile; a small, ephemeral thing that seemed to say it was in on a joke few others knew or would ever know, a joke that never seemed to end.

"Hello, Miko." Shojo said. "We need to talk."


End file.
